`hideaway Is Now A Hub

June 09, 1990|By Genevieve Buck.

Bertha Hofer remembers when Troy had 350 people and was like ``a little fishing community.

``It was a getaway from the city,`` she said. ``Joliet was the city, and this is where people had their summer homes. Then, in the early `50s, some of us moved out here to live year round, and we had one real small country school.``

Today, Troy is Shorewood; it has 2,062 students in three elementary schools and needs more classrooms. Its population is around 6,000 and it`s believed that, within 15 years, that number could near 20,000.

Realtors say those new and potential residents ``are coming from all over, especially from Naperville and Downers Grove,`` where housing costs are higher.

But Shorewood has other assets, too-assets that are causing some of those original pioneers to hang onto and renovate their riverside cottages and are attracting newcomers who build houses with decks and three-car garages.

With Interstate Highways 80 and 55 bordering Shorewood, and with Illinois Highway 59 and U.S. Highway 52 running through it, the asset residents talk about most is accessibility.

It is easy to get anywhere.

It takes about five minutes to drive through the heart of Shorewood, east to west, from its trailer court near the intersection of U.S. 52 and I-55 to its River Road subdivisions with four-bedroom homes that sell for upwards of $250,000 and overlook cornfields.

It takes maybe 10 to 15 minutes to drive from Shorewood to Dominick`s or Jewel, White Castle or Arby`s, the auto dealer or insurance agent on hyperactive Jefferson Street in Joliet. It takes about 15 minutes to drive south to jobs at Mobil Oil, Commonwealth Edison, Exxon and other industries on the banks of the Des Plaines River.

Even law-abiding drivers say it only takes about 45 minutes to an hour to get from Shorewood to the Art Institute of Chicago, LaSalle Street or Wrigley Field via I-55.

To residents of Shorewood, in western Will County, such driving times-particularly the relation of driving times from home to shopping,

recreation and jobs-tell much about the appeal of their hometown. Yet Shorewood is far enough away from the larger cities to escape the gangs and drugs, the poverty and other problems of urban living.

And it still sits right on the Du Page River, where fishermen still catch black bass and crappies just as they did in the `30s and `40s when it was a

``resort area.``

Is it any wonder that ``growth`` and ``expansion`` are the very first words mentioned by local business owners, real estate agents, long-time residents and village officials?

Gary Holmes, Shorewood`s village administrator, is the optimist who foresees the possible 20,000 population figure early on in the 21st Century.

Much of Holmes` expansive view is based on strides made since the beginning of the year, both within the community and with next-door neighbor Joliet. In fact, the new peaceful coexistence with Joliet, resulting in a two- pronged pact that involves both communities` sewage systems and boundaries, is the crucial factor that assures Shorewood`s future growth.

After what one newspaper called ``a dogfight that ripped (Shorewood`s)

village board,`` a ``Blue Ribbon Panel`` was formed to study the merits of building the village`s own sewage system versus connecting to Joliet. Negotiations between the two municipalities followed.

Finally, Shorewood and Joliet agreed late last February to an ordinance that has everyone smiling, including Joliet`s mayor, Charles Connor.

Their Boundary and Wastewater Treatment Agreement calls for the construction of an interconnecting line to Joliet, which is expected to take a year to complete. Shorewood also agreed to erase the previous boundary line to its north, allowing Joliet to annex 150 acres of property there for its own expansion.

Cost of constructing the sewage hookup line is expected to be some $3.3 million; there will be a one-time payment fee of $1 million to Joliet.

The ``sewer situation`` was one of the biggest things ever to hit Shorewood, according to Linda Phillips, a village trustee as well as a member of both the sewer study group and the negotiating team.

Phillips, in favor of the sewer linkup with Joliet, said: ``It`s cost effective, and it makes sense. If this were a business instead of a village matter, there wouldn`t have been any debate whatsoever.``

However, Shorewood`s antiquated and at-capacity sewage system had been a matter of village board debate for years. One faction wanted Shorewood to build its own plant, estimated at a cost of $11 million. The other favored hooking up with Joliet-three years ago Joliet`s asking price was $250,000.

When the Environmental Protection Agency put Shorewood on ``restricted status,`` in effect putting a moratorium on building until the village could come up with an adequate sewage treatment system, solving the problem became a priority for the village board.

Holmes said the agreement ``solves a 20-year problem of providing adequate sewage treatment for Shorewood.``